NASAM Update as of the 31st Jan 2023
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From The Chair
A New Year
The museum is getting close to reopening at half term on 15th February, the various winter projects won’t be finished, but the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done, and the new displays are being built and populated.
Some of you will be aware that we have been discussing charging for admission for several years, but due to various factors have put it off three times now. The trustees discussed the situation again this winter and have again decided that with the country in a cost-of-living crisis, now is not the time to start charging.
We are one of only two aviation museums in the country with six aircraft or more that don’t charge. We are going to stay that way for the time being.
What we have decided is that the museum needs to raise more income in order to continue to develop and grow. Currently, funds are healthy, and if we are to continue to be East Anglia’s Premier Aviation Heritage centre, we need to keep them that way.
We have also talked about charging for access to the various aircraft and cockpits that we regularly open. The last few years have seen our public-facing volunteer team grow, and we can now regularly open cockpits to visitors. From our reopening, we will be charging for that access. We aim to open at least four cockpits each day that we are open, and will open different cockpits in the afternoon compared to the morning.
The charge for a ticket will be £7.50 for a single adult, £10 for one adult and one child and £15 for a family of up to five. We’re sorry, but due to safeguarding considerations, we cannot allow unaccompanied children inside aircraft or cockpits. The tickets will be valid for a year, so if you don’t get the chance to visit all the cockpits on your first visit, come back and see us again.
The aircraft that will be open include the Valetta, Sea Prince and Fokker F27 outside, plus the Gnat, Sea Hawk and Lightning cockpits in the main hangar. On certain days it will be possible to view the cockpit of the Spitfire. It will not, however, be possible to gain access to the cockpit due to its construction.
We hope to add additional aircraft and cockpits to this list in due course. Watch this space.
Although this charge is new, we feel that compared to other museums, it offers really good value and will allow the museum to continue to develop. We hope that you agree.
On the subject of winter projects, we have an exciting one coming up next winter. Watch this space for further details as they become available.
Steve
(Photos) Open Cockpits
General Updates
This is a short Online Flier this edition with contributions from the Chair, Steve, and a view of the Museum as we start the New Year. In it, he tackles the question of “to charge or not to charge in 2023”.
We have an events list from Gary, the Museum manager, of the events and private visits so far booked for 2023. As you will see below, the Museum is open for the majority of the dates as they fall on a Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday (plus the occasional Bank Holiday Monday).
We are due to reopen on the 15th of February, 2023.
As soon as we have more information on other special event dates and what will be available on those dates, we will publish those details in the blog.
Pete S
Dates for Your Diary
As we move into 2023, the Museum Manager and Team Members are busy looking at what Special Event Days we will be organising and what other visits have been organised at the Museum. The majority of the event days follow similar patterns as previous years with the regular event days. We also have a number of events already booked in by various organisations and clubs. If you would like to book an event at the Museum, then the first point of contact is to complete the online form by clicking on the button below:
Some of the organised visits will happen on days when the Museum is closed to the general public, and these are indicated on the list below.
Some of the organised visits will happen when the Museum is open to the general public, and in the case of the Scout Activities Day(s), then parts of the Museum and aircraft cockpits may be temporarily closed as the scouts undergo classes of instruction or fly in the flight simulators.
The list of Event Days so far booked:
The Repeat Info
The repeat information is still here I’m afraid, and I make no apologies for keeping his section in our blog. We are a charitable organisation relying on monies from the public to keep us going. Any help we receive is gratefully accepted and enables the museum to continue in our mission “To conserve, preserve and promote the history of aviation in East Anglia, whilst providing a fun, family-friendly and interactive museum, promoting education and remembrance of the events of the past“.
Are you thinking of helping ??
We obtain most of our finances by donations and by membership fees. We save money by having a dedicated group of volunteers that keep the museum and the exhibits both manned and maintained. We hope therefore a few people may consider helping in the ways below.
There are three easy ways to help: Help by becoming a Museum Member, also by Volunteering to help at the museum, or by Donating to assist in our running costs. Please click on the appropriate button below to access the appropriate information:
Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM MEMBER Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM VOLUNTEER 
Click to make aDONATION
Keep Up To Date
To keep up to date with further information, please keep an eye on our Social Media (see the Social Media buttons at the foot of this blog) or click on the button below to be notified by email of any upcoming changes by seeing the latest blog.
Go to the form forEMAIL NOTIFICATIONS
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